1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus with an ash scraper assembly and more specifically, a martini-shaped barbecue comprising a generally funnel shaped firebowl having an open topside and one central aperture situated adjacent at least one peripheral aperture at its bottomside; a cylindrical column comprising a top end, a bottom end, a central cavity and an ash bin, and the peripheral aperture of the firebowl leads to the central cavity of the column, the top end of the column is connected to the bottomside of the firebowl; and an ash scraper assembly comprising at least one scraper and at least one scraper handle, and the scraper comprises an axle rod and at least one arm extending from the axle rod, the axle rod is designed to fit within the central aperture of the firebowl, and the scraper handle is designed to be connected to the scraper to thereby rotate the arm of the assembly to scrape the bottomside of the firebowl and allow ashes to fall into the peripheral aperture and ash bin.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art to provide cooking appliances and barbecues that have vent systems and have various ways of cleaning ashes from the bottom of the firebowl. Traditional barbecue grills have been designed for burning charcoal as a heat source and have a place for supporting the charcoal below the cooking surface. Both the bowl and the cover have vent openings to provide necessary oxygen for combustion of charcoal while the cover is closed. The vent openings on the bowl have traditionally been used for disposing of ashes that accumulates at the bottom of the chamber. There are numerous ash catcher assemblies and pans used on portable barbecues to clean and remove ashes from the firebowl and collect the ashes in a bin.
The present invention for an ash scraping and collection system which overcomes and addresses the problems of the prior art and also provide for a unique ventilation system. The martini shape of the present invention provides for functionality and esthetics and tremendous innovations in design features. The present invention also provides for a device that dually functions as ash scraper and a vent cover.